Shooting stars on the Web
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009 5:40 PM by Alan Boyle
S. Abe and H. Yano / NASA / ISAS |
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Meteors flash brightly in a picture taken from an aircraft flying at an altitude of
39,000 feet during the 1999 Leonids Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign.
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The Internet can help you get a great view of this week's Leonids or any other meteor shower, on your computer screen or in the honest-to-goodness night sky.
Of course, if you have the time - and dark, clear skies - there's nothing to match the experience of seeing meteoric fireworks from your own backyard. Not every backyard is well-placed for meteor-watching, however, particularly if you live in an urban area.
So where can you go? The first option is to check with your local astronomy club (which may be listed here, here, here or here). Such organizations sometimes have viewing parties planned at locations well-suited for stargazing, and in any case, they'd know where the skies are likely to be darkest and most sparkly.
Another option is to use the Clear Sky Chart to find places near you where the skies are not cloudy all night. The Web site automatically combines weather reports with day/night data and the atmospheric conditions to produce easy-to-read, color-coded, hour-by-hour sky forecasts for popular skywatching sites around the country.
Generally speaking, the farther you can get away from city lights and obstructed skies, the better. Golf courses, country roads and state parks are among my favorite haunts. As you're driving around in search of a good spot, you just might happen upon some friendly fellow travelers, as I did during a meteor-hunting expedition a couple of years ago.
Any meteor shower gets better after midnight, when Earth's night side is turning directly into the stream of cometary debris that sparks shooting stars. It takes a while for your eyes to get used to the dark, so a little patience goes a long way. To figure out when astronomers think the Leonids will peak, you can try NASA's Fluxtimator Web page (but be sure to set the program for this year and your location).
While your eyes are adjusting, you can take in other celestial sights. This week, the opportunities to see the International Space Station pass by are mostly in the evenings, according to NASA's real-time sighting guide, but Jupiter is sparkling in the sky for most of the night. And if you stay up until dawn, you can feast your eyes on Venus and Saturn. Check out Sky and Telescope's observing guide to find out just where to look. You can also consult Heavens-Above for sky charts tailored to your location.
So what if it's totally cloudy, or you just can't sit outside after midnight to take in the sights? You can still get a taste of the meteor experience online by checking in with SpaceWeather.com. The Web site provided viewing tips in advance of the Leonids, and will surely offer a gallery of meteor snapshots afterwards. You'll also find activity reports on the International Meteor Organization's Web site and on the Meteorobs mailing list.
For news of Leonids past and future, you can also check with the Leonid MAC Web site. NASA's Leonid Multi-instrument Aircraft Campaign sends out researchers to document meteor showers from airplanes flying above the clouds or from exotic locales on Earth. This year, for example, top meteor experts are converging on Nepal, where they believe the very best viewing opportunities will be available.
If you've been lucky enough to capture a meteor flash on film (or, more likely nowadays, in a digital image), feel free to submit it to msnbc.com via our FirstPerson page. We'll share it with the world later this week. And if you miss out on tonight's show, never fear: Leonid meteors will still be visible for the next few days, soon to be followed by December's Geminid display.
Join the Cosmic Log team by signing up as my Facebook friend or following b0yle on Twitter. And pick up a copy of my new book, "The Case for Pluto." If you're partial to the planetary underdogs, you'll be pleased to know that I've set up a Facebook fan page for "The Case for Pluto."
